Pan masala, gutkha, all forms of chewable tobacco banned for a year in Delhi

In a landmark decision, the Delhi government today banned the sale, purchase and storage of all forms of chewable tobacco in the capital.

The Delhi government's Department of Food Safety issued a notification to ban all forms of chewable tobacco, including "gutkha, pan masala, khaini and zarda", in the national capital.

According to the notification, unpackaged products of chewable tobacco too are covered under the ambit of the ban.

"The manufacture, storage, distribution, or sale of tobacco which is either flavoured, scented or mixed? and whether going by the name or form of gutkha, pan, masala, flavoured/scented tobacco, kharra, or otherwise? whether packaged or unpackaged and/or sold as one product, or though packaged as separate products, sold or distributed in such manner so as to easily facilitate mixing by the consumer" is prohibited for a period of one year, the notification stated.

Health department officials said a notification was issued by the Delhi government in September, 2012, in pursuance of a series of directions from the Supreme Court for a ban on 'gutkha' in the city.

But since the term 'gutkha' was used in that notification, tobacco retailers started selling the components of 'gutkha' (betel nut and raw tobacco) in separate pouches, thus defeating the purpose behind the ban.

The health department had, therefore, come up with a new proposal for banning all raw chewable tobacco products in Delhi, PTI quoted a senior official as saying.